How do we Measure the Progress Towards Achieving our Business Goals?

Establishing goals is only part of the work in a business plan.

Once the goals have been explained to the employees and a plans have been developed to achieve those goals, it is important to review those goals at certain times during the year. A business manager needs to take a ‘time-out’ every so often and ask themselves the following questions:

• Is the business on target to achieve our goals?
• Is a course direction needed to get the business closer to achieving the goals?
• Are the goals still relevant with the ever-changing business world we live in?
• Are the employees still focused on helping the business achieve its goals?

The answers to these questions will help management decide if corrective action is needed. For example, if a business is not headed in the right direction, the manager might want to get all the employees together to review what is happening and make changes to help achieve the goals. Whether the management is good or bad, it still needs to keep the employees informed about how the business is performing and how the employees are doing with respect to the goals.